Surprisingly, I don’t have much to say about the Freedom Trail! I’d been wanting to do it for years, and it was fine. (I sound like my dad.) I love Boston, and it was cool to see all these famous sites, but a lot of them cost money to get into, and we didn’t do a formal tour, so we probably missed out on a lot of info that would have made it more meaningful.
Then we took the trolley to Boston Common, where the Freedom Trail starts. The trolley driver was telling us all these historic facts about it, but all I could think was, “This is the place where Mrs. Mallard leads her ducklings to in Make Way for Ducklings!” I remember reading that book with my mom when I was very little.
The old state house. The Boston Massacre happened in front of it.
(This man was holding a sign that said “Seeking human kindness.” I went over and gave him some money, but I wish I had started a conversation with him. I hate that feeling when you miss an opportunity to do something good. I’m disappointed in myself.)
Victims of the Boston Massacre
Interesting artwork on the tombstones
Ben Franklin’s parents
People put pennies all over Paul Revere’s grave. Gregg thought it went back to this ancient Greek custom of putting coins on dead people’s eyes to pay their way into the underworld, but I googled it later and it was just because Paul Revere was a silver smith and copper smith. I liked Gregg’s explanation better.
The inside of King’s Chapel was interesting because the pews had people’s names on them and were all blocked off. Growing up, our family always sat in the same pew at church, so I guess some things never change. Old North Church (the one with the lanterns- “One if by land, two if by sea”- looked exactly the same inside.
(Kathy and I gave my phone to Gregg and asked him to take our picture by the Sam Adams statue. He said, “I took a bunch.” I looked, and NONE of them had the statue in them! We laughed so hard, then made him try again.)
Paul Revere’s house
Funny story... Gregg and I were standing outside this church, admiring it and taking pictures, thinking it was Old North Church. I mean, there was a statue of Paul Revere in front of it! Finally, Kathy comes over and says, “You guys? That’s not Old North Church. It’s over there.” So. Embarrassing.
The next day, I drove out to Cape Cod National Seashore. It was really stressful! I saw a cute lighthouse, but couln’t find parking so I could stop and look at it. I tried going to two different beaches, and the parking lots were full. Finally, I found a nice, quiet beach. At that point, I didn’t have a lot of time left before I had to meet Kathy and Gregg, but I was still just happy to be at the beach.
When I got back to my car, I realized why the beach was so quiet... I missed the signs that said “Private Beach.” Oops.
(I just realized, I should explain that “we” is me and my birthmom and her husband. They drove out from Chicago to meet me.)
We started out having lunch at the Bell in Hand Tavern, which is super old.
Then we took the trolley to Boston Common, where the Freedom Trail starts. The trolley driver was telling us all these historic facts about it, but all I could think was, “This is the place where Mrs. Mallard leads her ducklings to in Make Way for Ducklings!” I remember reading that book with my mom when I was very little.
Here are a few of the sites we saw along the trail:
The old state house. The Boston Massacre happened in front of it.
(This man was holding a sign that said “Seeking human kindness.” I went over and gave him some money, but I wish I had started a conversation with him. I hate that feeling when you miss an opportunity to do something good. I’m disappointed in myself.)
The Granary Burying Ground was full of interesting graves.
Victims of the Boston Massacre
Interesting artwork on the tombstones
Ben Franklin’s parents
People put pennies all over Paul Revere’s grave. Gregg thought it went back to this ancient Greek custom of putting coins on dead people’s eyes to pay their way into the underworld, but I googled it later and it was just because Paul Revere was a silver smith and copper smith. I liked Gregg’s explanation better.
The inside of King’s Chapel was interesting because the pews had people’s names on them and were all blocked off. Growing up, our family always sat in the same pew at church, so I guess some things never change. Old North Church (the one with the lanterns- “One if by land, two if by sea”- looked exactly the same inside.
(Kathy and I gave my phone to Gregg and asked him to take our picture by the Sam Adams statue. He said, “I took a bunch.” I looked, and NONE of them had the statue in them! We laughed so hard, then made him try again.)
Paul Revere’s house
Funny story... Gregg and I were standing outside this church, admiring it and taking pictures, thinking it was Old North Church. I mean, there was a statue of Paul Revere in front of it! Finally, Kathy comes over and says, “You guys? That’s not Old North Church. It’s over there.” So. Embarrassing.
The next day, I drove out to Cape Cod National Seashore. It was really stressful! I saw a cute lighthouse, but couln’t find parking so I could stop and look at it. I tried going to two different beaches, and the parking lots were full. Finally, I found a nice, quiet beach. At that point, I didn’t have a lot of time left before I had to meet Kathy and Gregg, but I was still just happy to be at the beach.
When I got back to my car, I realized why the beach was so quiet... I missed the signs that said “Private Beach.” Oops.
I met up with Kathy and Gregg in Plymouth, where we saw Plymouth Rock (which was nearly impossible to get a picture of because of the shadows) and did some shopping. I got something at an antique store to use for my Thanksgiving centerpiece this year!
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